Flexible Working Guidance for Employees

Oxford Brookes University is committed to promoting and practising equal opportunities in employment. This includes giving employees, wherever possible and practical, the opportunity to work more flexibly. The University supports a variety of forms of flexible working including part-time or part-year working, job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time. Although there is no automatic right for employees to work flexibly, the University is keen to ensure that all requests are considered fairly and all options are explored fully before any decisions are made.

The purpose of this guidance is to assist employees when submitting a Flexible Working Request. It should be read alongside the University’s Flexible Working Policy.

This guidance reflects the legislative framework set out in the Flexible Working Act 2023.

The University expects all line managers to consider Flexible Working Requests carefully and thoroughly before making a decision. To help them in this process it is important that employees understand the Policy, Procedures and Guidance that line managers are working to, and the type of information they can provide to support an effective decision making process.

It is the responsibility of employees to ensure that when submitting an application:

• they complete the Flexible Working Request Form, in Appendix 2 of the Flexible Working Policy
• they read and understand the Flexible Working Policy and associated guidance
• they understand the time frames involved in the application of the Policy and its Procedures when making a request.

Line managers are entitled to refuse a request if there is evidence that it will impact on the effective operation of a team, department or Faculty/Directorate. The business grounds for refusal can only be one (or more) of the following:

• burden of additional costs
• detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
• inability to reorganise work among existing staff
• inability to recruit additional staff (due for example to a request for an unusual working pattern)
• detrimental impact on quality
• detrimental impact on performance
• insufficiency of work during the period the employee proposes to work
• planned structural changes.

The Flexible Working Request Form provides employees with the opportunity to set out in as much detail as possible the change(s) they would like, and how they believe it could be implemented. Whilst there is no statutory obligation on the part of the employee to demonstrate how the requested change(s) might work in practice, or be expected to know everything that might concern their line manager, it is in their interest to make the request as comprehensive as possible. The more relevant and comprehensive the information received is, the more collaborative the process will be, and the more likely that a suitable outcome can be reached. For example a request could include:

• a clear description of the request, i.e. a change to working pattern
• the date that they would like the changes to be implemented, taking into consideration the timeframes laid out in the Policy
• a review of existing workload patterns and an identification of how that workload will be managed if the change is accepted e.g.
• how does the workload currently split across the day/week/year?
• how much of the current workload is time/location specific?
• if an early start or late finish is involved on any days what work could be done during those periods?
• what effect the change will have on the operation of the team and how that could be accommodated/managed (e.g. if an employee recognises that a particular element of the new working pattern could be a potential problem it is in their interest to suggest how that problem could be overcome)
• how the change could be beneficial to the effective operation of their team
• a consideration of how the change might impact (if at all) on colleagues, how that impact could be managed and any support statements from relevant colleagues.

Once a Flexible Working Request Form has been submitted, you will be invited to a meeting with your line manager to consider the request. Employees have the right to be accompanied by a fellow employee or a trade union representative at this meeting should you wish.

The Consultation Meeting provides an opportunity for both parties to explore the options available and to clarify any concerns or questions they may have. If line managers have concerns that the change requested could be problematic the meeting allows both parties to look at how the requested change could be managed, and where necessary to suggest and explore alternatives. It is important that employees understand that line managers may have legitimate concerns and questions about changes to ways of working, and will need to address them as fully as possible.

No decisions will be made at the meeting itself, but will be set out in writing following consideration. 

The University requires line managers to consider all requests carefully and to only refuse them where clear and genuine business grounds are given to justify that refusal. Line managers are expected to have sufficient evidence and good and verifiable reasons to support any refusal.

On occasions it will simply not be possible for a request to be granted in full. If line managers do not feel it would be possible to accommodate the change as requested, they will, where possible, suggest an alternative. It is in the interest of employees to be flexible and where clear problems have been highlighted, to consider any alternatives offered. However if the employee feels, for example, that the request has not been considered fairly and fully, that the grounds given for refusal are not genuine, or that the alternative suggestion offered was not suitable they do have the right to appeal against the decision. 

Employees who wish to appeal against a refusal of a Flexible Working Request must do so within 7 days of notification of the decision to the line manager and copying in the people manager in the People Directorate.

As with the original request, it is in the interest of the employee to ensure that the information they submit is as comprehensive as possible.

The Appeal will be heard by the line manager’s manager, or delegated other, and their decision will be final.

If employees have any concerns about how to make a Flexible Working Request (or to Appeal against a refusal) further advice and guidance is available from the People Directorate.